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When Daniel Birnbaum was recruited by a private equity firm to
become CEO of SodaStream International in 2007, he faced
a challenge. Sure, the Israel-based company had customers for
its at-home carbonation machines, but they weren't exactly
bubbling over with excitement for the century-old brand.

"The product lineup was 10 years old, and consumers referred to
it as a 'hospital' machine. They would hide it under the sink
when people came over," remembers Birnbaum, who joined the
company from Nike.

With Birnbaum at the helm, SodaStream--which sells carbonation
devices for $79 to $199 and flavoring packs for $5 and
up--rereleased the countertop appliances in five bright colors
and required retailers to order the entire rainbow, not just a
few favorites. By the end of his first year on the job, the
revamped devices accounted for 60 percent of carbonation-machine
sales.

The new strategy came out of Birnbaum's decision to hire people
with what he calls the "crazy gene"--enthusiastic executives who
thought their brand could go head-to-head with the likes of Coke
and Pepsi. SodaStream empowered them to take risks--but that
resulted in a few failures, too: In Slovenia, the carbonation
devices were stocked on grocery beverage shelves instead of with
appliances; understandably, they compared unfavorably with
low-price sodas. At home in Israel and in Belgium, the company
experimented with lowering the cost of the device, with a plan to
make money on the CO2 refill cartridges and flavors, but
customers at the time weren't invested in their machines, which
were going unused.

Instead, the company focused its marketing
program on eco- and health-minded consumers who don't want to
give up carbonated beverages. It emphasized the sustainability
aspect of making soda at home with reusable bottles, as opposed
to the wasteful method of producing and shipping commercial
products. Additionally, the company promoted its line of
flavorings sweetened with real cane sugar and/or Splenda, rather
than high-fructose corn syrup or aspartame--allowing it to pitch
itself as a more healthful alternative to mainstream sodas.
Finally, the brand got a boost by promoting the "personalization"
aspect of its product--the fact that people can create their own
flavors--and increased recognition through licensing deals with
familiar companies like Country Time and Kool-Aid.

Since Birnbaum has implemented the new SodaStream strategy,
growth has come at a rapid clip. At press time revenue for 2012
was projected at $424 million. The firm now has 2,200 employees
worldwide, 20 manufacturing facilities across nine countries and
plans to open an "innovation center" this year near Tel Aviv. In
a major coup, the company in February announced a partnership
with Samsung to develop a four-door refrigerator with an
automatic sparkling-water dispenser.

But the SodaStream team still sees itself as the little guy
tilting at corporate windmills--one who's not afraid to add some
serious fizz to the fight. With part of its $65 million marketing
budget, the company bought its first Super Bowl ad in 2013; it
showed traditional soda bottles exploding when someone uses a
SodaStream.

In the U.S., a key growth market, SodaStream is sold at retailers
such as Walmart, Costco, Williams-Sonoma and Bed Bath &
Beyond. India and China are also in the company's growth plans.
Meanwhile, the product line is expanding; a partnership with star
designer Yves Behar resulted in Source, a sleek
carbonator with a new snap-on mechanism to attach bottles (in
place of a screw-in top). Also new are pre-measured flavorings
for 1-liter bottles.

"People will not tell you that they are looking for home soda
solutions. But they did not ask for a doorknob or an iPod,
either," Birnbaum says. "When you have a disruptive type of
technology, you have to work really hard to create the demand."